A knowledge base is one of the most efficient customer service channels. Making the right information readily available allows customers to find answers independently, facilitating the job of customer representatives and reducing the need for live customer support. Companies invest many resources into streamlining their knowledge base content expecting to improve their ROI and to offer users a better customer service experience.

Some companies will upgrade to a new knowledge base platform hoping that improved management and organization capabilities will lead to a stronger knowledge base. Others will increase the size of their knowledge base, creating more content to cover more ground. While better management tools and a bigger knowledge base might be a step in the right direction, without quantitative data to substantiate changes, knowledge base administrators are left to make educated guesses on how to further improve their knowledge base content. What is intuitive and simple for the customer to understand had remained, until now, a matter of personal interpretation rather than tested knowledge.

SmartTEST solves this problem by giving knowledge base administrators the necessary tools for evaluating content performance as well as the ROI support to justify further investment in knowledge base. The innovative software provides a breakthrough approach to measuring and improving knowledge base ROI and customer satisfaction. Safeharbor proudly presents the SmartTEST Article Optimizer.

How SmartTEST Works

The SmartTEST Article Optimizer equips knowledge base administrators with tools for analyzing and optimizing knowledge base content. The fundamental mechanism of the application is A/B testing – comparing different versions of content to determine an article’s strengths and weaknesses. The application quantifies successful content based on a number of key performance indicators helping customer support and knowledge management administrators better understand article performance.

The user begins optimization by identifying original content (control) and new content (test). Before the testing begins, users can further refine how trials will be conducted by choosing sampling rates, length of test runs (time or success), and other variables that signify an improvement in content quality. While longer durations yield more accurate results, users are given extensive control over how their content is analyzed to allow for customized testing and content analysis.

The intricacy of the SmartTEST mechanism lies in the information the application learns about content performance. By analyzing user interaction using indicators like scrolling, time spent on pages, article ratings, whether escalation to alternative customer service channels occurred, and many other variables, the application is able to calculate comparative performance scores. The data highlight the strengths and weaknesses of each article giving knowledge base administrators an empirical foundation for how to improve their knowledge base content.

Using SmartTEST

SmartTEST lets administrators operate article optimization manually or have the application perform automated optimization. Automating the process involves setting performance benchmarks which represent the degree of improvement between articles. SmartTEST compares content performance until the benchmark is satisfied at which point underperforming content is replaced with content that has demonstrated stronger customer satisfaction and/or ROI. SmartTEST runs in the background collecting valuable information and optimizing knowledge content without the need for administrator supervision or any disruption to the website experience.

Furthermore, because the user is able to compare any two or more pages, the content optimizer is not restricted to solely improving articles and can be configured to optimize any kind of on-page content – FAQs, manuals, marketing advertising, and more. It can also be used to improve the percentage of customer support inquiries directed to selected channels. This versatility makes SmartTEST an agile and powerful tool for analyzing and improving knowledge base content.

SmartSupport Integration

SmartTEST integrates completely with Safeharbor’s knowledge management platform – SmartSupport™, and can also be used as a stand-alone feature. SmartSupport offers internal and external tools for knowledge base and community forum management and allows companies to maximize the potential of their knowledge. With the new SmartTEST functionality, SmartSupport offers knowledge base administrators complete control of their knowledge base content performance.

About Safeharbor Knowledge Solutions:

Safeharbor Knowledge Solutions, a Washington based corporation founded in 1998, is a leader in knowledge management SaaS applications and solutions as well as contact center services that helps organizations provide superior customer support, primarily in the technology, retail, banking, airline, communications and utility sectors. Safeharbor’s Knowledge Management Solutions group has been providing knowledge management assistance to small and Fortune-500 companies for over a decade and helps balance ongoing efficiencies with service quality and customer experience.

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About Safeharbor

Safeharbor is now part of Enghouse Interactive - developer of world’s most comprehensive portfolio of call center solutions. Safeharbor delivers cutting-edge community forums and knowledge base software. Safeharbor also provides a full range of knowledge base management services and contact center solutions. Easily manage support content and improve customer service.